Somali pirates continue hijacking spree

Somali pirates continue hijacking spree    A change in the calendar brought no pause in attacks from Somali pirates who seized two ships on New Year’s Day. The attacks came on the heels of two other hijackings on Dec. 28.
   It was particularly bad news for London-based ship management firm Zodiac Maritime Agencies, as a roll-on/roll-off ship it manages was seized on the afternoon of Jan. 1, just days after Somali brigands captured a tanker it also manages.
   The U.K.-flag car carrier Asian Glory was taken by pirates 620 miles off Somali, and expected to arrive in its coastal waters Monday morning. Zodiac said Sunday in a statement that “it has been confirmed all crewmembers are safe and unharmed.” The 1994-built pure car truck carrier is part of the fleet of Eukor, a company that is owned by Sweden’s Wallenius Lines (40 percent), Norway’s Wilh. Wilhelmsen (40 percent), and Hyundai-Kia (20 percent). The Times of London quoted an executive of the South Korean automaker as saying the Asian Glory was carrying cars from South Korea to Saudi Arabia at the time of the attack.
   Also on the morning of Jan. 1, the Pramoni, 20,000-deadweight-ton Singapore-flag chemical tanker, was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. At the time of the attack it was traveling eastbound with a destination of Kandla, India, according to European Union Naval Force Somalia. The ship's master reported via radio that the ship was hijacked and the crew is well. The ship was headed south towards Somalia.
   The New Year’s Day attacks follow two hijackings on Dec. 28. The U.K.-flag chemical tanker St. James Park, also operated by Zodiac and owned by Philbox Ltd., is anchored off the Somali Coast. It was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden even though it was transiting a corridor patrolled by warships. Later that same day, the Panama-flag bulk carrier Navios Apollon was hijacked about 200 nautical miles east of the Seychelles. The 52,073-dwt ship was destined for Thailand. The Navios Apollon is owned by Navios Maritime Partners L.P. of Piraeus, Greece.